Client collaboration is nuanced and means something different in every law firm, but when done properly it can make your firm more profitable.
The meaning of client collaboration
It may seem obvious, but client collaboration should be about the client. As the legal market evolves and alternative service providers gain ground, how can law firms be sure they’re doing all they can to build client relationships? Is it possible that there is a disconnect between the communication that law firms have traditionally offered and what clients now expect?
In our on-demand webinar, How to win business with collaboration, David Sanders, a partner at Foley & Lardner and Kate Jasaitis, a client success consultant at HighQ, explore modern, effective client collaboration strategies. Together they discuss how to connect a client with data when they need it and be transparent about the delivery of your services while efficiently delivering those services, measuring the results and ensuring the client’s return on investment.
Static traditional partnership firms that don’t deliver an effective collaborative strategy that includes these aspects, at the speed of business, risk losing business to their competition.
The potential impact of collaboration on the law firm
So, why does legal collaboration matter? If you’re delivering the work you’ve been engaged to do, why does it matter how it’s delivered?
Think about the personal relationships you have with companies in your everyday life, your bank or grocery store. There are numerous competitors out there that do the same thing. But it’s really about how these companies make you feel and how easy it was to work with them that keeps you coming back. As David Sanders put it, “It’s about building relationships so that when there is a need, they will remember you and want to work with you.”
When you have effective and engaging social collaboration your client will feel like a partner in the relationship and feel confident that you understand and are fully invested in the success of their business. This closeness and sense of partnership will give you an edge when it comes time for the client to decide where to send their additional business.
Not only will you see the impact of strategic client collaboration in additional business won and increased revenue, but efficiency is naturally improved when the firm and client are closely aligned. Effective legal collaboration will reduce time spent on administrative tasks, lower the cost of travel and provide better project management accountability.
Strategies for increasing revenue with client collaboration
Nothing replaces face-to-face interaction when it comes to building lasting relationships with your clients. But clients today are challenging firms to do more with less. Technology is a good way to enhance your long-term legal collaboration strategy. With online document collaboration technology, your firm will be more accessible and foster a positive client experience that keeps the business coming back. So how can you use collaboration to your advantage?
- Highlight your online document collaboration tools and resources, as well as how you will use them to serve the client in RFP responses and pitch meetings
- Enable clients to find the documents and answers they need with a client portal or extranet site
- Offer real-time metrics and reporting so the client can clearly and easily communicate your value to their business
In the age of easy digital communication, client collaboration can be easier and more effective than ever. Review your legal collaboration strategy and ask yourself a few questions:
- How can the firm build a better relationship and become closer with the client?
- Is your firm providing connectivity to resources, transparency of expectations, timely delivery of services?
- Is the client equipped with the metrics they need to show the value of our relationship?
Law firms that find the opportunity to add value with collaboration will create sticky relationships that have a distinct advantage over their competitors while building lasting client relationships. To learn more about how client collaboration can add value to your firm, watch the webinar: How to win business with collaboration.
